


Day 3: An Unexpected Reunion

by arcanewiz, monochromekiss



Series: Rinharu Week [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boy Band, M/M, Musicians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-14 04:38:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10529106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanewiz/pseuds/arcanewiz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/monochromekiss/pseuds/monochromekiss
Summary: Rin disappears to Australia for a long period of time, leaving his band mates to deal with the aftermath of his absence. When he comes back unexpectedly, no one is sure how to react. Especially Haru.





	

Haru was sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest as he glared outside through the open garage door, a position the others found him in often since Rin left for Australia for an unexpected large amount of time that was starting to take a toll on the whole band rather than just Haru.  
Nagisa groaned, draping himself over his drum set. “Mako-chan, he’s been like that for weeks! How are we supposed to do anything?”

“Well, we’ve still got a few hours to practice. It’s not like we’re in a rush.” Makoto replied, forcing himself to smile for the sake of everyone else. Rin’s sudden long absence had been hard on everyone, but he knew it had hit Haru especially hard.  He walked over to the blue haired boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Haru? Feel like taking a quick break?”

“Last time one of us took a break we lost a band member.” Haru groaned, hunching up his shoulders to move Makoto’s hand away.

“I was thinking more of a ten minute break for snacks.” Makoto said with a nervous laugh, moving his hand away from Haru’s shoulder.

“C’mon, Haru-chan, a break will be good for you!” Nagisa insisted, now tugging at Haru’s arm to try and get him up but his attempts were useless as Haru didn’t budge.

“I can take a break right here.” Haru said instead.

Makoto let out a long sigh as he watched Nagisa’s futile attempts to get Haru to move. Before he had a chance to say anything further the garage door suddenly burst open, Rei emerging with a large binder full of papers and a triumphant look on his face.

“I’ve finally finished! I looked into every song that’s in the charts right now, the music that is most popular at all the local clubs as well as the songs that are trending on social media, and after accumulating all the data I’ve devised the perfect lyrics!” Rei said excitedly with a smug smirk.

“Rei-chan!” Nagisa quickly let go of Haru to give Rei his undivided attention instead. “What did you come up with? I bet it really is perfect! But perfect people come up with perfect things huh.” He smiled.

“Nagisa-kun!” Rei gasped, his cheeks flushing pink at the sudden compliment. He quickly adjusted his glasses before pulling a sheet of paper from the binder in his arms and placing it on one of Nagisa’s drums. “Well...as I was saying…the lyrics follow the classic ABABCBB structure which is popular in most pop songs.”

“Uh-huh… Rei-chan, I have no idea what that means but it sounds smart.” Nagisa said, bending over the drums so he could have a better look at the sheet of paper.

“These look great. It’s really impressive.” Makoto added, leaning over Nagisa’s shoulder so he could read the lyrics as well. He glanced back at Haru who was still in the same position on the floor, not even bothering to turn around. “Haru... don’t you want to come and look at what Rei has come up with?” He asked nervously.

“No, I don’t.” Haru replied, Nagisa sighed and only sent a quick worried glance his way before settling back on the lyrics.

“These lyrics are good though, maybe you’ll cheer up!” Nagisa forced a practiced smile that had been used way too many times recently.  

“Haruka-senpai…” Rei mumbled nervously, a concerned look on his face as he desperately tried to think of something comforting and helpful to say. “I’m sure you’ll like this song, Haruka-senpai. The words have a really positive message. I even thought of an extra verse for your solo you usually-” He stopped abruptly, remembering it was only Haru who sang now. When Rin had still been there, the two of them had often sung duets together, but in Rin’s absence the task of singing was left solely to Haru.

“I don’t care about your stupid lyrics! It’s not the same without Rin and you all know it!” Haru snapped, suddenly storming off and slamming the door behind him so harshly that it made cymbal and hi-hat of the drums shake ever so slightly.

“Well done, Rei-chan.” Nagisa pouted.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Rei gasped.

“It’s okay, Rei. It wasn’t your fault. Haru is just struggling to deal with things right now.” Makoto replied in the most positive tone he could manage. “He’ll be okay soon. Just give him time, and it will all work out somehow.” He said, giving them both a reassuring smile. But despite his words, he wasn’t so sure that was true.

* * *

 

Makoto managed to persuade Haru into singing the lyrics Rei had come up with and their practice ended on a high note so now the group was merely sitting around for some bonding time. However, Haru’s sulking wasn’t over yet and it was likely to never end unless Rin came back but even if he did come back, he didn’t know what to say. There’s no way they could just go back to what they used to be with how much Rin’s break hurt them all in more ways than one.

The four of them had been sat in awkward silence for a long time before Makoto finally stood up and started looking through various cardboard boxes of their old things just for something to do. He really couldn’t think of any comforting words to help Haru, so he thought perhaps a distraction would be best. “Hey Haru...remember this?” Makoto asked suddenly, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from one of the boxes which was covered in different colored scribbles. “These lyrics bring back memories, huh? We actually all sang a part that time, just for fun. Even Rei. Remember that?”

“I remember. But then I did write it.” A familiar voice interrupted from the doorway to the garage. Rin was stood there with a large backpack still thrown over his shoulder, his arms folded across his chest.

Haru looked up and froze, not knowing how to feel at the moment with every emotion clashing; from anger to relief and happiness. He wanted to either hug or punch Rin, it really was a hard choice for him. He didn’t seem to be the only one, he noted Nagisa’s face switching through many expressions as if unsure of which one to settle on as he clutched the hem of Rei’s shirt.

“See you come in and already stir shit up, I told you a surprise wasn’t going to be a good idea.” Sousuke said gruffly, carrying the rest of Rin’s belongings.

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t expect them to just stand there and gawp at me though.” Rin huffed.

“We just really weren’t expecting you back so soon. But we’re glad to see you Rin.” Makoto replied, nervously glancing at Haru since he wasn’t sure how he would react.

Sousuke sighed and moved closer to Makoto, giving him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “I’m apologizing in advance.”

Haru stood up and took Rei’s pen and paper, then he walked over to Rin and shoved them to his chest. “Get to work.”

“Haru…” Makoto sighed, shaking his head in disbelief at his incredibly blunt response. He placed his hand over Sousuke’s, forcing himself to smile. “It’s alright. I guess we should let them sort it out themselves.”

For a moment Rin didn’t say anything, simply glaring back at Haru furiously. “Are you serious? Are you actually serious?!” He snapped, crumpling the piece of paper Haru had given him and throwing back at his face. “You don’t see me for so long and when I finally come back, that’s all you have to say?!”

Haru closed his eyes and took a deep breath and finally decided which emotion to focus on. “What about you? What do _you_ have to say for yourself after leaving for months without contacting us at all? If it wasn’t for fucking Yamazaki we wouldn’t even know if you were alive! Do you expect me to welcome you with open arms after all the stress you put me and the others through? After all the questions we got about why you left, after making me sing on my own and feeling fucking useless the whole time I did, you expect me to smile? Is that it?”

“Haru-chan…” Nagisa whimpered, tightening his grip on Rei’s shirt, still flicking through what he’s feeling.

Rei didn’t dare say anything in fear of making the situation worse. Instead he simply held Nagisa tight against his chest, trying to comfort him as best he could.

“I didn’t realize I needed your permission before I decided on anything. Maybe you should have told me that before.” Rin replied sarcastically. In all honesty he was hurting as well, and was severely regretting just turning up announced. But he was far too stubborn to apologise or admit he was wrong. “And what about all the stress you all put me through before I left? Do you know how much hard work you are sometimes?”

“So _that’s_ what we are. We’re just a chore to you aren’t we?” Haru glared at him, crossing his arms stiffly across his chest.

“That’s not what I meant! Don’t fucking go and twist my words around again to suit yourself. You’re just proving my point, Haru! You’re the difficult one!” Rin snapped.

“How am I the difficult one?! You’re the one who couldn’t handle a little rise in popularity! You’re the hardest to please!” Haru bit back.

“Remember when I asked for your opinion? No? Neither do I, because I never did!” Rin shouted, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

“I didn’t ask you to come back but here you are!” Haru hissed.

Nagisa groaned and pulled Rei’s arms away so he could stomp over to them and shove them away from each other. “I thought that the day I’d see Rin again would be the best day ever and that everything would be fine but I guess I’m still too stupid to see how things actually are and that not everything turns out alright but I know neither of you are saying what you mean so you better shut the hell up before I lose my patience and slap the living lights out of you!” He turned to Rin with a glare, he huffed. “I’m glad you’re back, but do you know how hard it is to deal with Haru sulking for months?! Practice has been hell and performing has been torture and if it wasn’t for Rei I swear I would’ve quit this band already! So now that you’re back, _please_ do not start more arguments, because we have had plenty in your absence!” His voice broke towards the end as he tore up, refusing to stop the flood of tears coming so that he didn’t lose his composure.

“Nagisa-kun…” Rei mumbled, his eyes wide with shock. It was so rare for Nagisa to lose his temper in any way. He took a hesitant step forward, placing both his hands on the blonde’s shoulders.

Rin stayed silent and bit his lip, a wave of guilt suddenly flooding over him. He had expected them to miss him at least, but he hadn’t stopped to think just how much pain leaving would have caused them, especially Haru. At the time he had been trying to prove a point, but now he wondered what point that even was. “Well..I’m back now, so it’s fine...” He mumbled quietly.

“It’s not!” Nagisa whimpered.

“Let’s just… I’m glad you’re back.” Haru huffed.

“So am I. I missed you.” Rin sighed with a pout.

“I missed you too.” Haru looked over at Nagisa from the corner of his eye. “Are you happy now?”

Nagisa sniffled and shook his head. “You need to hug.”

“Eh?” Rin squeaked, his cheeks flushing pink as he looked over at Nagisa then back to Haru. “I’m okay with it if you are.” He huffed.

Haru didn’t say anything else, just wrapped his arms tightly around Rin’s waist and pulled him close. Nagisa smiled and joined in on the hug, squeezing them both a bit too tight.

“Nagisa-kun...maybe we should let them share a private hug?” Rei asked, lightly tugging on Nagisa’s sleeve.

“It’s fine. This is just fine.” Rin mumbled, wrapping his arms around Haru’s waist and resting his chin against his shoulder. He had been so relieved to have Haru willingly hug him, he hadn’t even noticed Nagisa had joined in until Rei pointed it out.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll just hug you instead!” Nagisa said as clung to Rei’s waist.

“How long is this hug going to be though?” Haru mumbled, although he didn’t make a single move to pull away nor did he look displeased.

“I don’t know...do I have to decide everything?” Rin asked with a pout, still holding on to Haru tightly.

“Yes, I trust your judgement.” Haru replied.

“This is getting weird.” Sousuke mumbled, although he didn’t bother getting up to separate them, he preferred sitting by Makoto and let the other two do whatever they were planning to do.

“It’s very sweet though.” Makoto laughed as he watched them, gently leaning against Sousuke’s side.

It was a few more minutes before Rin finally pulled away from the hug, and it took all of his willpower to let go of Haru. “I guess I’ll start trying to write something.” He mumbled with a brief shrug.

* * *

Rin spent the next hour sat in the corner of the garage, using one of Nagisa’s drums as a table to lean on as he attempted to write some new lyrics. Writing words for songs had always been Rin’s job, and before it was something that came easily to him. The only problem was this time it wasn’t easy at all. He was already surrounded by scrunched up balls of paper littering the floor, and was once again glaring down at a blank page as if it was his worst enemy.

Rin glanced over at Haru who was still sat a few metres away from him, listening to whatever Nagisa and Rei were now rambling about. It was then he remembered why writing songs had just naturally started becoming a habit in the first place. Whether it had been intentional or not, every song he had ever written had always somehow been about Haru. Rin let out a long sigh before he lifted up his pen again, quickly scribbling down the first words that came to mind.

 

_If we stay like this, I'll fall in love all over again._

_So forgive me please. Just forgive me please._

_Don't know what I was thinking when I caused you that pain._

_But forgive me please. Forgive me please._

 

Haru left Rei and Nagisa when the conversation shifted to a direction that made him uncomfortable and decided to check on Rin, not even wanting to think about what Makoto and Sousuke could be doing on their own. He stood behind Rin and read over his shoulder, his heart beating faster as he came to the conclusion that the lyrics were about him. “It’s not going to be easy.” He mumbled.

“Ah!” Rin yelped in surprise, jumping up and quickly trying to hide the lyrics away even though he knew it was pointless since Haru had already read them. “What the hell, Haru?! Don’t sneak up on people! You could have given me a heart attack!”

“But I didn’t.” Haru replied. “But like I was saying, I’m not going to forgive you just like that. I’m really glad you’re back but I won’t let this go until I’m sure you won’t leave without warning again.”

“I’m not going to do that again. I don’t even know why I did.” Rin sighed, placing the lyrics back down on the drumkit and taking a few steps closer to Haru. “Listen...you were right. I couldn’t handle just a little bit of a rise in popularity, which is stupid since this band was my idea anyway. But I never thought about getting fans or anything like that. I just wanted an excuse to be with you. Everything was for you.”

Haru’s cheeks started flushing red and his eyes widened. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said everything was for you! Did you not even realise?! Every song I wrote and idea I had, it was for you!” Rin huffed, his cheeks flushing just as red as Haru’s.

“Oh… Then why didn’t you just say it at all to my face instead of avoiding the subject for so long?” Haru asked. “You just made me more and more confused because I thought they were for someone else.”

“I thought it was obvious though...it’s always been you.” Rin mumbled quietly.

“Well it wasn’t. But I like you a lot so just…” Haru fumbled for words and didn’t know what to do with his hands until he decided to grab Rin by the collar of his shirt to kiss him on the lips. “Just.. Just stop dancing around things, I want you tell me everything to my face from now on, no matter what.”

“I like you a lot too!” Rin squeaked, his cheeks a dark shade of scarlet as he eagerly returned the kiss. He wandered why he had never bothered to just tell Haru his feelings before, but he made a decision right there.

From then on, he would tell Haru everything.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So we decided to do a Boyband AU for Day 3, although it's just a casual thing. They're not massively popular. And I'm sure everyone guessed but it's implied Rei and Nagisa, and Sousuke and Makoto are in an established relationship. - M


End file.
